外甥打燈籠——照舊

Chinese
sororal nephew; grandson
 
beat; strike; break; mix up; build; fight; fetch; make; tie up; issue; shoot; calculate; since; from; dozen
 Chinese lantern
 
to remain the same; to be as before; as always; as before
trad. (外甥打燈籠——照舊) 外甥 打 燈籠 —— 照舊
simp. (外甥打灯笼——照旧) 外甥 打 灯笼 —— 照旧
Literally: “nephew carries a lantern ― to be as before”.

Etymology

照舊／照旧 (zhàojiù, “to be as before”) is a pun on the homophone 照舅 (zhào jiù, “to shine on one's maternal uncle”).

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): wàishēng dǎ dēnglóng, zhàojiù
    (Zhuyin): ㄨㄞˋ ㄕㄥ ㄉㄚˇ ㄉㄥ ㄌㄨㄥˊ, ㄓㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄡˋ
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Pinyin: wàishēng dǎ dēnglóng, zhàojiù
      • Zhuyin: ㄨㄞˋ ㄕㄥ ㄉㄚˇ ㄉㄥ ㄌㄨㄥˊ, ㄓㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄡˋ
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: waysheng daa denglong, jawjiow
      • Tongyong Pinyin: wàisheng dǎ denglóng, jhàojiòu
      • Sinological IPA (key): /waɪ̯⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ tä²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ tɤŋ⁵⁵ lʊŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕjoʊ̯⁵¹/

Idiom

外甥打燈籠——照舊

  1. to remain the same; to be as before
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